Audiobus: Use your music apps together.
What is Audiobus? — Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.
Download on the App StoreAudiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
BeatHawk and Vatanator alternatives
I’ve been trying to find a simple drum sampler au that lets you import your own samples into presets that can be used on multiple iOS devices.
I’ve tried BeatHawk which is great but doesn’t support exporting and importing full kits with samples etc so is really awkward to switch devices.
I’ve tried vatanator which seems good standalone but the importing the samples to the au doesn’t seem to work and it’s just a bit strange.
Anyone suggest a decent alternative? Doesn’t need a sequencer or anything like that, just a solid, lightweight au. Envelope and pitch controls would be good.
Edit: I’ve done vatanator and @backpullver a disservice. Vatanator is great and just what I needed!
Comments
AudioLayer.
The interface is a bit of a pain IMO, but it’s a good sampler / instrument. It can use iCloud for easy synchronization of patches between devices. Some people have complained about Apple randomly deciding samples need to be re-downloaded from the cloud. But with an OK Internet Connection, and relatively small instruments, I have never had an issue.
Thanks. I’ve been avoiding it as it’s more expensive than most au’s and I’ve heard it’s buggy but have been tempted a few times. Wish I’d saved my money on vatanator and BeatHawk IAPs.
Are there any other options?
NOT AU but you can roll your own samples
DM1
iSpark (layers!)
yeah for AU use Audiolayer
Is it stable now? What about cpu use?
It’s never been even slightly unstable for me, and CPU usage is low. I’m guessing maybe the problems you’ve heard about are from people using very large instruments with a lot of samples. For most drum kits, I doubt that’s a problem. Ymmv.
The interface while creating instruments drives me batty. But I don’t create a ton of them, so I’ve learned to live with it.
Thanks. With a bit more playing around I’ve figured out vatanator and I think it’s pretty much exactly what I want, even though it doesn’t have proper files app support. You can send a preset to Dropbox and import on another device which will do for now. The built in presets are great too.
I’ll keep an eye out for a price reduction on audiolayer and pick it up anyway.
+1 to this question! We also are looking/waiting for a better sampler answer (something like the BM3 one as an AU would be perfect IF ANY DEVELOPERS ARE LISTENING!!!) but AudioLayer is what we use for now, it's not unstable at all and it's as good as it gets right now for us. We made a tutorial of how to get your samples from Mac, building the kit in logic EXS24 and getting them into AudioLayer. Best workflow for us so far.
How many devices do you have? with all this searching, couldn't you have uploaded you individual samples in a zip file to dropbox and dragged and dropped them to 16 pads in like 2 minutes per device by now? What about Beatmaker 3 or IMPC 2. I don't know about you, but I want them all. Different options for different things and the biggest palette one can have that way. At IOS prices, I buy at least one new one a month...and synths. I think may have found the end of the internet. I'm about 3 synths and 2 drum machines shy...well 3 now that you told me about Vatonator.
Someday there will be a Beatwalk Pro or #2 and it’s gonna be a monster!
Groove Rider.
I would have persevered with BeatHawk and taken the time to move my samples to 3 devices if I wasn’t having other probs with it tbh. Always good to know the options though. I buy a couple of apps a month too but trying not to waste money on ones I won’t use.
impc 2 BM3 are both iPad only - I spend most time on iPhone X.
Anyhow, now I’ve got my head round vatanator it’s great!
Groove Rider is universal and it’s the most powerful of the bunch. You can thank me later
Can’t wait for that day. It’s a monster now. Just improve the sampler, add a full mixer and add an au channel or two and au fx slots and I’m good.
Is it au?
Not AU
So I got fed up with bugs and bought audiolayer
Just wish their interfaces were as pretty as audiodamage etc. Works great though!